Reflection: "Invictus"

This poem is yet another example of English stoicism. The poet seems to be injured and dying but he is not sad or scared. He keeps going unafraid of his inevitable death. He does not express the pain and suffering he has endured. Through all of the challenges he has faced he has overcome them. He is in charge of his own fate. It is a dark poem yet at the same time shows the strengths of man.

Reflection: "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Flower in the Crannied Wall"

These two poems of Tennyson. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" tells the story of a group of soliders who are directed to charge into battle. They ride in and fight but many are killed. They had died honorable deaths. The bigger message of this poem is that war is bad. Soldiers are asked to fight and die just because that is what they are asked to do. One line reads "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die." Soldiers are supposed to obey their command, not to stop or think about what they are being asked to do.The second poem "Flowers in the Crannied Wall" is a bit more difficult to interpret. I think maybe its showing how the relationship between this flower and man is like man and god. The flower was able to come to life out of nothing, a cranny in a wall. I guess that like how life was created out of nothing. Then man is able to kill the flower just by plucking it out of the wall. God is said to have the same power in the life of man. In that way, understanding the relationship between himself and the flower the poet is able to somewhat understand man's relationship with god.

Reflection: "The Lamb" and "The Tyger"

The two poems by William Blake seem to work together for their greater meaning to become. The lamb is shown as an innocent peaceful creature, macrocosmicly representing goodness. On the other hand "The Tyger" focuses on a animal characterized as a fearful, evil being, or on a larger scale all that is evil. In both poems the poet questions who created these two very different creatures. He wonders how god could create such a good thing as well as such a bad thing. The lamb is kind of heavenly, a happy, innocent, fluffy, warm animal. Whereas the tiger is hellish, firy, and frightening. In a way, it shows how he thinks that god created everything in the earth both good and evil.

Reflections: “She walks in beauty” ”When we two parted”, “The Waning Moon"

Lord Byron's two poems are poems of being in love and being heartbroken. They express his affections beautifully.You can feel his emotions coming off the page as you read them. "She Walks in Beauty" is pretty happy, focusing on all the things he loves about this woman. "When We Two Parted" takes a much more depressing tone, expressing the heartbreak experienced in a break-up. Shelly's poem compares the waning moon to a frail old woman. It is a dark yet peaceful work. That poem and "She Walks in Beauty" are rich in metaphor. All of the poems use nature to in some way convey their emotions. Both poets use simple rhyme schemes yet their words do not sound childish or forced. Their words are well crafted and flow nicely.

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A thousand hands of skeletons reaching upward

Their fingers gnarled and bent

Hands of dead giants

Grasping at the only source of color they can find

A pale sheet of blue just out of reach

From which a light shines

One that the hands once knew

That will return color to their limbs

Yet, me and the wind like it here

Wandering through a graveyard just before the dead come back to life

Reflection: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”

The poems  “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” have a lot in common. They both deal with a similar theme of finding beauty and peace in your surroundings and joy in solitude.They use words to create images of scenes that you can picture and share the poets' emotions as if you were there.Each poet is able to capture tones of sadness as well as joy in the very same poem. They are lonely and sad but at the same time there are hints of happiness created by the beauty of nature and the world. In "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" the poet, Wordsworth, finds beauty within the natural world, he does not like the new polluted  world that has been formed by the Industrial Revolution. He finds better company in daphodills than he does in a bustling city filled with people. In the poem "Composed on Westminster Bridge" he does view the city as a place of beauty but only in the morning just before the people fill the streets and smoke fills the sky. Again he finds peace just observing the beauty of the world unsullied by other people.

Why We Strive For Perfection

There are many factors that might go into why people try to do their best at everything. I don't think anyone necessarily strives for perfection-- unless something has a defined limit there isn't really any way to be perfect-- but it does seem like in most cases people want to do the best they can. Pressures and expectations can be contributed to why we have this drive. For one, the better you do the better rewards you receive. If not a physical reward it gets people to think of you differently. The same goes for the consequences for not trying and doing poorly on something. It seems like the main things that people strive to do better in are school and work. People try hard in school so they can get into a good college. Doing well in college gets you a good job. Doing well at your job gets you promotions and more money. It's a never-ending cycle of hard work leading to something else to work hard at. It seems that a common idea is that hard work grants you success and success leads to happiness. Then again why do people strive to be the best they can be at things that no one else will see or care about? I think a lot of people think that those things don't matter but some do. I think there is some joy that comes just from personal accomplishment. I'm not sure if this trait is set upon us by society or if it is naturally ingrained deep within our souls but everyone seems to strive to do their best at almost everything. Either way it is important for all of humanity that people have this state of mind. If no one worked hard at anything the world would be a much different place.